Ryan Batch

Interface FLOR

Designing across physical space, digital tools, and service delivery.

About the project

FLOR is a modular carpet tile system designed for homes and commercial spaces. Selling and installing the product required coordinating design, sales, operations, and customer education across multiple touchpoints. This work focused on improving how people selected, designed, and installed flooring while supporting both customer and employee needs.

Role

  • Design lead and manager
  • Service and experience designer
  • Tool and process designer

Focus

  • Service design
  • Experience design
  • Interior and spatial design
  • Operational and process design

Outcome

Sales increased. Communication became clearer. Effort was reduced for customers and employees. Service delivery improved from initial consultation through installation. Design decisions supported business goals while improving the customer experience.

Project Overview

Customers were asked to make complex flooring decisions with limited tools and inconsistent guidance. Employees relied on manual processes that slowed delivery and increased the chance of error. The opportunity was to design a more coherent experience across the full service.

The Challenge

  • Complex product configurations
  • Time-consuming manual workflows
  • Inconsistent communication
  • High effort for customers and staff
  • Limited tools for visualization and decision-making
  • Without intervention, scale increased friction.

The Approach

It was important to design for the entire service experience to deliver on the promise of great service design. Here's how the holistic approach came together.

Design the service, not just the space

We examined the full customer journey from consultation to installation.

  • In-store experience
  • Sales conversations
  • Design decision-making
  • Installation and follow-up
  • This revealed gaps between intention and execution.

    Create tools that reduced effort

    We designed tools and artifacts to improve clarity and speed.

  • Flooring layout tools for faster design exploration
  • Clear visual communication for customers
  • Instructional materials for staff and installers
  • These tools improved accuracy and confidence.

    Align experience with operations

    Design decisions accounted for business realities.

  • Reduced errors and rework
  • Improved onboarding and training
  • More predictable delivery
  • The experience worked better because the system behind it worked better.

    What Changed

    • Faster sales cycles
    • Clearer communication with customers
    • Reduced effort for employees
    • Improved service consistency
    • Stronger alignment between design and operations
    • Design became a driver of both experience and efficiency.

    Why This Matters

      Good design connects experience to execution. This project shows how:

    • Service design applies beyond digital products
    • Systems thinking improves physical environments
    • Design principles translate across mediums
    • It reflects the foundation that later informed my digital product work.

    Multidisciplinary Designer